Thursday April 13, 2017

The update block for Intel Kaby Lake and AMD Ryzen systems is now in effect: those who are using a "processor designed for the latest version of Windows" and attempt to get the latest patches via Windows Update on an older OS will be met with an unimaginative, blinding dialog panel that insists your hardware is not supported. The author believes that Microsoft’s decision may be justified for Windows 7, but not for 8.1, as that OS is still in its mainstream support period.

We knew Microsoft was planning to block installation of Windows 7 and 8.1 updates on systems with Intel 7th Generation Core processors (more memorably known as Kaby Lake) and AMD Ryzen systems; we just weren't sure when. Now, the answer appears to be "this month." Users of new processors running old versions of Windows are reporting that their updates are being blocked. The block means that systems using these processors are no longer receiving security updates. The new policy was announced in January of last year and revised slightly a couple of months later: Kaby Lake and Ryzen processors, and all new processors on an ongoing basis, would only be supported in Windows 10. Windows 7 and 8.1 would continue to support older processors, but their chip compatibility was frozen.